Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. Seasons. Do you expect to walk outside on a summer day and find snow on the ground? Not in most places, especially Mississippi! Do you rush outside on a winter day, expecting to find the hydrangeas in full bloom? No. Then why do we expect our lives to never change, always expecting the same thing from ourselves and others?
"To everything, there is a season." This can be applied to nature, as well as to our own lives. It is acceptable to behave childishly when we are a child. It is not acceptable to behave the same way as an adult. We must accept that life comes to us in seasons. I am in the middle of a changing season. I have two children about to leave home for college. Things are very different than they were a year ago - even 6 months ago. I can see that they are getting a bit nervous about leaving and at the same time, they are ready to try. It seems like an abrupt change, but it really isn't. For their entire lives, we have been working towards this time. We have taught them practical skills for surviving in the world, as well as teaching them who they are. They have gradually earned more responsibility and freedom. They are ready and it is time for them to get out there on their own.
This may sound strange for a blog about being a reluctant marathoner, but I do have a point. Just as in life, we encounter different seasons, so it is in our training. If we don't recognize that there are seasons of rest as well as seasons of work - speed training, long runs, etc. we run the risk of burnout and/or injury. With burnout and/or injury comes the risk of stopping altogether. That's not good. The goal is to keep moving, right? It just might be at a slower, less intense pace. I am in a resting season right now. I am not doing long mileage and am cross training more than running. Part of this is due to an injury - a overuse injury. I got too caught up in the schedule and making sure I got it all done. Now I have to sit it out for a while. That's what can happen when you get out of balance. In life and in running this holds true. They are both balancing acts. When one thing gets out of balance, something else suffers.
When I step back and remember that life is a series of seasons, I know that it is ok to take some time and slow down. It is in slowing down that we gather strength. But as Jim Rohn said, "Make rest a necessity, not an objective. Only rest long enough to gather strength." Rest is not a permanent state of existence. It is a tool to be used to accomplish great things, but it seems that some only find it in the too extremes - too much or too little.
For now, I am in a season of gathering strength and healing for what lies ahead. In a few weeks, I will send my first two to college, have one child at home (a first for me), prepare for another big race event and take some time to get back out there and train for a 1/2 marathon in December - my running goal for the rest of the year.
What season are you in right now?
